Gender-biased fertility preferences may decrease fertility: evidence from a counterfactual analysis

Guilhem Cassan and Milan Van Steenvoort

No 18551, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Gender-biased fertility preferences are prevalent in many societies. They are commonly thought to be a driver of fertility. We show here that this is not necessarily true: switching from gender-biased to gender-neutral fertility preferences can increase fertility. The magnitude and the sign of the variation in fertility depends on the choice of gender-neutral fertility counterfactual. We illustrate our findings using data from the Indian Demographic and Health Surveys and show that gender-biased fertility preferences can lead to a change ranging from -15% to 23% of total excess fertility or -4% to 6% of total fertility

JEL-codes: J13 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-10
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